The Benevolent Angel
by Shadowhunter12
Summary: A young Angel, Artemis, wants to become a Mother Superior, and argues with her mother, Mother Superior, of their clan. Her mother agrees to let her travel time to learn about the history of the Angels from her friend, so that one day Artemis will become a great and powerful Tribe leader
1. Chapter 1: A New Future

A New Future

She stood quietly watching, waiting. The others were hiding too, waiting for the perfect time. She sensed someone coming up behind her. He passed without even bothering to notice she was there. It was time. With his back to her she could freely move. Her wings unfurled, and she jumped off her post flying faster than the eye could see. Landing close behind him she froze again. He didn't notice. In a moment she was on his heels, but his head was turning. She ducked into a side alley as he turned around, confused and a little wary. He looked right at her, and she stared back, eyes unmoving.

"Just a statue…" he said quietly to himself. Turning back, he continued on his way, and she pounced.

"He saw you!" the Mother Superior screamed at her.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, everyone get's seen once in a while," she defended herself. Standing side by side, facing away she could feel Mother Superior's wrath, her wings twitching angrily.

"Nobody sees me, and as my daughter, I hold you to the same expectations. It is an embarrassment that we are plagued with the quantum lock!"

"Mother, the quantum lock protects us! It lets us hide in plain sight!"

"But when you're on the hunt, you should be swift and strike without needing to use it. We Angels are the fastest and best killers in the universe! It is embarrassing that when we hunt we cannot look our victims in the eyes while we take their life."

"You're being unreasonable! When was the last time you hunted?"

"I lead this tribe! I do not hunt. I have responsibilities dealing with other tribes in this city to maintain our hunting areas. Responsibilities that you can't fathom as young as you are!"

"I'm three millennium old! How can I not be old enough to be able to understand your job?" And here the curse of the quantum lock reared it's head. The Mother Superior's face softened, but she could not look at her daughter, and neither could her daughter look at her to see the compassion in her face.

"Yes, you are," her psychic voice softened as she stretched one of her wings to wrap around her daughter as she took her hand, "but you've only lived in a progression. You haven't traveled back as all the leaders have of every tribe in the universe. I myself am only twelve millennium old, but I've traveled across many more." Her wings drooped and her daughter sensed the sadness in her. Wishing she could see her face, wishing she could hug her, she calmly took her mother's hand,

"Then let me travel. Please, Mother. I want to learn how to be strong like you."

"Child, I've lost many friends and family because of traveling. You're not my first, nor only daughter…."

"I understand. But Mother, I want to travel. I know we are only alive because we hunt, but I want to see the universe, I want to be able to lead a tribe." Her Mother caved.

"Okay, you have my permission. But you must choose a name. Out there, although I've traveled through many eras, not every Angel will know you're my daughter."

"Artemis will be my name then."

"I'm sending you to a friend of mine. She leads a very successful tribe and she is well versed in our history. You will learn much from her."

"Thank you, Mother."

"Take this," her mother handed her a pendant, "if I never see you again, know that I love you and am very proud of you." Artemis covered her eyes with her hands as her Mother turned to her. She turned to stone. Her mother looked over her daughter. She had grown into a very beautiful Angel. Her wings were strong and graceful. She would attract many suitors, but none of them would be worthy of her, her mother's instinct told her. She reached out and touched Artemis' shoulder. In an instant she was gone.

Artemis cautiously peered through her fingers. She was alone. Lowering her hands she glanced around. She was in an old cathedral, imly lit by candles. Around the walls she saw pedestals, empty. Hearing wood creak she leapt towards the rafters and took up a dark corner to watch. An elderly priest walked down the aisle between the pews towards the alter. At an intersection with another aisle, he turned and headed to a small alcove. Moving to a different vantage point, Artemis watched as he knelt before a statue of a woman in a long blue robe over a peach colored dress. The priest pulled out a rosary and started praying. Intrigued, Artemis watched and listened to him carefully.

"Leto, is that you?" a voice entered her mind. Surprised Artemis turned to stone, fearing someone was watching her.

"Leto, it's okay. It's only me, Isis!" Slowly, Artemis looked around the cathedral, before taking a look at the statue of the woman before the priest. Barely, she could see the form of wings on her back.

"Not Leto, I am Artemis. My mother sent me here to learn." She sent an image of the pendant her mother had given her.

"Ah! Artemis! You look just like your mother did when she was 5000 years old. I am Isis, welcome! Your mother said you would be coming, I've been expecting you for many years now."

"But I've only just left her, how can this be?"

"My dear, you have much to learn of your heritage and culture. Your mother and I are both Travelers. We can communicate across many eras and over great distances, though when communicating across time, sometimes the message isn't always received when it was intended."

"When are we?"

"The Earth-human year 1922 a.d.. We are in Milan, Spain. I received your mother's message 30 years ago, and since then a younger her has visited a couple times. She still has one more visit before going to give birth to you and your brother."

"But if that hasn't happened yet, how do you know?" Artemis asked, puzzled.

"Because, I myself will not be around, but the younger me will. Of course I must not know yet."

"There are two of you here?"

"Yes, I traveled back to start this clan, after I left it 2 millennium ago."

"I still don't understand," Artemis was trying to grasp what Isis was telling her, but she felt light headed.

"You will know me as 'Mary,' the younger me, you will call 'Isis'. I am 15 millennium old, but Isis is only nine, the same as your mother will be when she visits. Isis joined this tribe only 300 years ago, and I started it 500 years ago. When Isis leaves here in 200 years, she will Travel forward and live there for 5 millennium before adopting the name 'Mary' and coming back to start this tribe." Artemis tried to grasp all this information.

"Traveling sounds very complicated."

"It is, but the more you Travel the easier it gets. The rest of the tribe is coming back from the hunt. Come, I will introduce you to them. Do not reveal who your mother is, Isis must not know." The priest stood up and quietly walked out a back door. Mary dropped her robe and took flight, landing above the alter. The doors of the cathedral opened and in an instant her Tribe entered swiftly, hands over their faces. Artemis was amazed that not one turned to stone.

"Artemis, come by my side, the others know you are here," Mary called to her. Artemis dropped down and assumed her position next to Mary, her hands covering her eyes so as not to see the others. Indeed, now she began to understand the curse her mother spoke of. She could not see her new family, though she turned to stone as they all gazed down upon her.

"My sisters and brothers, welcome home!" Mary called out, "We welcome this night with a new member of our Tribe. Artemis, the daughter of a very dear friend of mine. She has Traveled for the first time and is here to learn from us. She is young, but her mother assures me she is strong, curious, and has a passion to learn." Artemis' mind was filled with voices, happy, joyful voices welcoming her to the tribe. Then images of each angel filled her view so she could see each and every one of them.

"Isis, I want you to look after Artemis and guide her, as you are the youngest amongst us and closer to her age."

"With pleasure Mother Superior!" Isis replied, her voice ecstatic and filled with excitement.

"Go then, Artemis, and be with your new sister." Artemis smiled as the others covered their faces so she could join Isis' side. Her new future awaited her.


	2. Chapter 2: Mary's Story

Mary's Story

Artemis landed quietly on the roof of a building, keeping to the shadows. Unlike her mother's tribe who hunted during the day, Mary's tribe hunted at night.

"Why don't you go out during the day?" She'd asked Isis on their first night.

"It goes back to our heritage," was her simple reply. It seemed everything they did was the way of the ancestors. From when and how they hunted, to the clothes they wore, and the music and stories they shared during the day while they stood guard over the cathedral. Although none of the Angels knew Mary's past, they all recognized her as being the wisest amongst them. She claimed to have been one of the first born from the first generation, though Isis who was born from the second generation couldn't remember her. Most of the Angles here were Travellers. Many were much much older than Isis, but that was subjective. They all came from different eras, each having heard rumors of a Tribe that practiced the old ways of living. Although some had tried, nobody could find the original Ancestors.

"Artemis, below you!" Isis' voice cut through her thoughts. Down below a young couple was walking together.

"Both of them?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, it'll be easier on them." Here, the Angels actually cared about their prey. The happier a victim was, the longer they'd live, thus the more potential energy to feed off of. Waiting until they turned down a dark alley, Artemis prepared to pounce.

"Wait for it," Isis whispered, "wait…NOW!" Artemis sprang forward, faster than even most Angels could move. Reaching out with both hands, she touched the couple and concentrated on keeping them together. Mary would let her know if she suceeded in a couple of minutes.

"Wow, you're fast!" Isis cried in excitement.

"You have to be where I came from."

"Lots of people?"

"And during the day."

It had been a long time since Isis had hunted in that way. Although she felt it was more free, she did see the advantage of hunting at night. Less people meant less chances someone was watching you while you stalked your prey. She couldn't count the number of times she'd frozen and lost her prey because of some tourist.

"Nicely done ladies," Mary's voice called to them, faintly, "Isis you're doing much better, they only ended up a couple miles apart. Artemis, we need to work on your timing. Although they landed together, they were a few years apart. We'll work on that."

"Don't worry, I had trouble with timing too," Isis offered cheerfully, "You just need to travel more, then you'll get used to the timing."

"Thanks," Artemis replied happy with a successful hunt. It was time to return to the cathedral. Unlike her tribe who had only hunted in one area, Mary's tribe moved around the country. They'd hunt different regions to keep the population from dwindling down too low.

Returning to the Cathedral, Artemis covered her eyes, and sensed her way through the building so as not to look at any of her sisters or brothers. She still hadn't figured out how the others could move about feely without locking each other. She occasionally froze when others saw her which caused them to bump into her. She'd always apologize but the others always reassured her that it was only natural. She still didn't understand how they could move about so freely.

"Artemis," Mary called her, "Come, it is time for a little history lesson." Artemis knew little of the history of the Angels. She only knew that they had once lived peacefully on their own planet many eons ago, but then they started starving. Originally they only hunted beasts of the wilds, but they began to starve. They were a powerful species, and soon managed to reach out psychically to another species. Their new allies helped them attain Travel amongst the stars, but at a terrible price. Now, merely killing and eating the flesh of their prey wasn't enough. They discovered they could use potential energy to feed off of, which gave them even more power. From that point on, it is unknown to the Angels what happened. Lore had it that it was in this period that the quantum lock started affecting themselves. Nobody knew it happened exactly. Suddenly one day, a great many Angels froze as they were looking at each other, just going about their daily lives.

"Do you know why we quantum lock when looked upon?" Mary asked.

"Every Angel knows why. It was a defense mechanism our race developed until we became strong enough to hunt and fight ourselves."

"So then why can't Angels look at each other?"

"It is only a natural instinct…isn't it?" Artemis was unsure.

"Let me tell you a story of our Ancestors," Artemis' wings quivered with excitement.

"Angels were once unsophisticated, much like the primates of this planet. But like the Humans, we evolved. We developed communication, and became fast. Faster than any other beast. We were great hunters. This all happened many eons in the future from today though. Eventually we started to develop psychic powers. We stopped needing to speak and started speaking only into each other's minds. As time went on, we grew curious about the universe, but our race was starting to starve. Our bodies needed more energy to communicate telepathically. We started fighting for food. In desparation, a group that had tried to keep us united flung their thoughts out to the stars, pleading for help. Then the Time Lords came.

Such a great powerful race they were. They taught us about the Time Vortex, time travel, and helped us develop our psychic energy and powers. We were able to travel amongst the stars. We could tap into the time vortex and travel anywhere. This came at a terrible price though. It consumed so much energy that merely taking a life and eating the flesh wasn't enough. Many Angels starved. The Time Lords helped us discover potential energy. We could now live off the potential life force of other creatures, but we had to swear to never use this against a Time Lord. The Time Lords gave us the ability to live nearly immortal lives. In return, we protected them. We fought alongside them against the Sontarrans, and Cybermen. This was all before the Great Time War, even though that happened many millennia before our present time today, and our time with the Time Lords is many eons in the future.

Although we were exceptional warriors, we still had the quantum lock from our ancient ancestor's defense mechanism. Because our two races were so interweaved, naturally Time Lords and Angels began mating. Although some Time Lords were opposed to it, many thought it would be a step forward in their own evolution as a species. We could travel without needing a TARDIS, but they relied on them. Eventually, a new race of Angels was born. They weren't cursed with the Quantum lock. There was much rejoicing amongst our kind. The Time Lords too celebrated, but these Angels, whom we are decended from, were greedy. No longer hindered by the quantum lock, they could move about more freely than ever before. Seeing that they were more powerful than any Time Lord, they decided to try and take what they felt was their rightful place as rulers. The first Angel to kill a Time Lord was Lucifer. He was leader of the Angels. As soon as he came to power, he banned the mating between Angels and Time Lords, saying that our mating with them would distill our "pure blood." Many Angels disagreed with him, but they were too frightened to speak up. He and his generation weren't inhibited as they were. Soon, his generation started mating and sent their children back in time to help him take control of the Angels and Time Lords.

A long and bloody war followed. The Time Lords won, and imprisoned the surviving Angels. Using their genetic technology, they managed to re-introduce the quantum lock into the Angels, but they altered it. Before, Angels could look at each other. Now, they couldn't gaze at one another without being turned to stone. As a punishment, we had to assume the ultimate position of submission. We had to bow our heads and cover our eyes. The Time Lords sent us back, to the near the very beginning of Time itself, were no other creatures lived to starve. They then time locked the period of when our home world was created up to the point where they banished us. Now, we can never go back home. Being so near the beginning of time, there were no living creatures to feed off of. Even if there had been, they couldn't be fed upon. Sending a victim back in time, just meant sending them into the void of nothingness that existed, thus making them have never existed and having no potential energy. Our Ancestors decided to save their energy, they must quantum lock themselves. All but one were turned to stone. Having been one of our mightiest warriors, he was the strongest and could go without needing to feed for a thousand years. To save his own energy, he'd quantum lock himself, but since there was nothing looking at him, he was free to unlock. Our race survived this way until the first signs of other life forms came to be. First, there were merely beasts, which didn't have long lives, but it was enough to live off of for a while. Our Ancestors gradually began starving to death once again as there were too many. Many perished until just a few million were left, spread amongst the stars. In order to survive, they realized that they had to keep their numbers down. Mating was outlawed until more viable life forms were found.

When the first signs of more viable life forms with longer lives were discovered, the Angels rejoiced. They swore to protect and take care of this race. The Humans became the Angels' saving grace. Knowing they couldn't constantly feed off them, the Angels took them to different planets. There, they helped the humans develop and evolve. They became our cattle. With a new food source, the Angels began flourishing, and the First Generation was born."

"So," Artemis began, "Our ancestors came from a future time, were helped by the Time Lords, betrayed them, and were sent back in time?"

"Yes, but we still must bear the punishment of our Ancestors. Although most have died off now, there are a few remaining."

"Where are they?"

"In hiding. Although we respect our Ancestors, many current Angels despise them. We have many enemies in this universe. Partly because we were allies with the Time Lords for a long time, and partly because other allies of the Time Lords see us as traitors."

"Is this why Mother is so bitter towards other races?"

"Your mother and I were of the second generation, but many of the Punished were still alive when we were growing up. Life was still a struggle, up until the Fifth Generation, I believe. They were the ones who Traveled to the future and started their own tribes again. They were the ones who put us back on the galactic map as a formidable race." Artemis' chest filled with pride. Her own father had been of the Fifth Generation and had been one of the first to travel to the Future. He then Traveled back after setting up a new Angel home world to help the previous Generations when he met her mother, Leto.

"Come Artemis, it is time to take your position. Daylight is approaching, and it is the Earth-Human day, Sunday."

"Mother Mary," Artemis began as she stood up, "is it because we once watched over the Time Lords that you have us now watch over these Humans?"

"Always so many questions," Mary smiled, "You are indeed as intelligent as your mother claimed."


End file.
